The performance of a visual image analysis (VIA) system was tested with regards to its potential to determine in vivo carcass composition and conformation, either alone, or in conjunction with other in vivo measures such as live weight and backfat depth. Pigs of both sexes of a commercial type were reared and slaughtered at weights ranging from 50 to 120 kg. Feeding was ad libitum on diets rang...

Two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of porcine ST (pST) on the responses to a near-ideal blend of AA for pigs from 22 to 60 kg BW. Eighty Hampshire × Yorkshire gilts (40 gilts/experiment) were individually penned and assigned to a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, consisting of 4 diets with and without pST injection. A fortified corn-soybean meal basal diet was formula...

The objective of this experiment was to study the usefulness of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in determining soft tissue composition (STC) and carcass fat-free mass (CFFM) of Holstein steers at different ages. Growth data and prediction of STC and CFFM were determined for four groups of Holstein steers: 12 of 3 mo, 12 of 6 mo, 15 of 9 mo, and 16 of 12 mo of age. Average weight for anim...

The effect of selection for growth rate on relative growth of the rabbit body components was studied. Animals from the 18th generation of a line selected for growth rate were compared with a contemporary control group formed with offspring of embryos that were frozen at the seventh generation of selection of the same line. A total of 313 animals were slaughtered at 4, 9, 13, 20, and 40 wk old. ...

OBJECTIVE Fresh sugarcane has been a new roughage source for ruminant's in semiarid regions, a function of the decline of sugar and alcohol industry in recent years. However, there is little data published regarding lambs fed sugarcane associated with spineless cactus. This study evaluated the effect of sugarcane replacement with spineless cactus (0%, 33%, 66%, and 100%) in the diet of Santa In...

Campylobacter spp. have been isolated from live poultry, production environments, processing facilities, and raw poultry products. Environmental sampling in a poultry grow-out house, combined with carcass rinse sampling from the same flock, may provide a relative relationship between pre- and postharvest Campylobacter contamination. Air samples, fecal/litter samples, and feed/drink line samples...

The aim of the present study was to derive multiple regression equations for in vivo estimation of the carcass lean and fat content in Muscovy ducks. The experimental materials consisted of 240 White Muscovy ducklings (120 male and 120 female). One hundred sixteen females aged 10 wk and 112 males aged 12 wk were slaughtered. Before slaughter the ducks were weighed, and the following body measur...

The objective of this study was to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting carcass traits on chromosome 1 in Japanese quail. The populations comprised of 422 progeny in 9 half-sib families. Phenotypic data on carcass weight, carcass parts, and the internal organs were collected on 422 progeny. Nine half-sib families were genotyped for 8 microsatellite markers covering chromosomes 1...

Thirty non-castrated male lambs with 20±2.3 kg average body weight (BW) were randomly assigned to five treatments consisted of different dietary concentrations of crude glycerin (CG; 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12% on DM basis) to evaluate the effects on performance, carcass and meat quality traits. A quadratic effect was observed for performance (P=0.04), final BW (P<0.01) and hot carcass weight (P<0.01). ...

Environmental samples were collected from carcass sites during and after anthrax outbreaks in 2000 and 2001 in the bison (Bison bison) population within Wood Buffalo National Park and the Hook Lake Region north of Wood Buffalo National Park. Bacillus anthracis spores were isolated from these samples and confirmed using phenotypic characterization and real-time PCR. Confirmed B. anthracis isolat...